Burning in your Flames
by Laylacat11
Summary: She cannot allow herself to be captured again because she refuses to return to Arkham. 'Never again.' Is all she can understand from her mind. That place was hell to her and she wouldn't return ever again even if it meant that she would die to receive her freedom. So she keeps running from everything, her past, her present, and never to be future.


**A/N: I do not own Batman and I will probably never own any rights to batman. This is a work of fanfiction meaning that none of this is cannon. Please enjoy the story and don't forget to comment/review so that I can get feedback on if this story sucks or not. Thank you.**

Mary-Kate Ashton born December 5, 1988 to Jonathan Baker and Angela Ashton was always a trouble maker. Brown hair borders her face to keep out her green eyes and pallid complexion from the rest of the world. She's dangerous and she knows it.

The new year is 2000 and Mary-Kate finds herself running down the alleyways of Gotham with a leather sack of money hanging limply off her shoulder. Her shoes are nearly sticking to the ground almost as if it wants her to never leave it. In a way she is correct, once you enter the Gotham underworld you can never truly leave.  
She's currently working on a way to escape the clutches of the notorious Batman. Her legs have taken her as far as they can go and soon she fears that they will give out on her at any second. So far has she gone that the alarms from the Gotham bank is no longer ringing in her ears. She's made it this far so she can keep running. _'All I have to do is make it into the door in the last alleyway and then I'm scot free!'_ She thinks to herself. She cannot allow herself to be captured because she refuses to return to Arkham. _'Never again.'_ Is all she can understand from her mind. That place was hell to her and she wouldn't return ever again even if it meant that she would die to receive her freedom.

Mary-Kate keeps running without looking back. If she looks back now the bat will probably appear in front of her and she can't have that. At the last moment she slips into the last alleyway and through the back door of the ice-burg lounge. For now Mary-Kate was safe. Her small twelve year old heart pitter-pattered in her rib cage. Her breathing was ragged and the money bag was clutched tightly in her hands. Beads of sweat drip from her neck and fall along side the raindrops coming from her hair. This was the second night of her new job so she was still a little nervous and clumsy when it came to thieving for the Penguin as he was an unpredictable man. Mary-Kate had actually begun her criminal carrer at the early age of six when she had beaten a class mate nearly to death because he stole her pencil. Mary-Kate's parents began to question her sanity after that incident and even more when she began talking to herself. They then sent her off to Arkham where she lived for four more years of her life before being declared sane. After that Mary-Kate was never the same. She hated her parents deeply and couldn't wait for the day she could get revenge but it would never happen.

The girl walked into the well decorated lounge with determination. The only reason she was in this mess was because her parents thought it was wise to take out a loan from the Penguin, a well known rouge. In the end they got what they deserved but now Mary-Kate was an orphan and still had to pay back the debt in full. "Hey, kid bring me the money!" A voice yelled out from a small doorway near the back. A well dressed man stood against the frame in an in irritated manor, it was the penguin.

"It's all here Mr. Penguin, all twenty-two thousand in convenient hundred dollar packs."

"Did anyone see you?" He asked as his eyes greedily looked over the money in the sack.

"Just the Batman, sir but I escaped him alright."

"The Batman! You lead him here?" The Penguin yelled as his face turned red as a tomato with all signs of greediness gone to be replaced by a fear only seen in those who had fought against the caped crusader. He was not a happy customer at all. "I want you out of my lounge. I don't ever want to see your face around here again you understand? The Batman can never know I was a part of something like this. I refuse to have an excuse to return to that damned asylum!"  
Two men came into the room wearing black jackets with their names sewed on the right pocket. Ear pieces rested on the left side of their face and to Mary-Kate they looked very professional and ready to kick her out. They reached out to grab her by her arms but she scrambled out of their reach. She went to make a run for it only to be greeted by the sight of a gun barrel pointed between her eyes. She lowered herself to her knees and held out her hands in a pleading motion. "Please Mr. Penguin, sir I didn't mean to cause any harm and I swear the Batman never saw me come in here." She spoke to him.

The gun never left her head. He was really going to shoot her and she couldn't do anything beside plead for her life. She was afraid so very afraid of the man before her. In truth Mary-Kate never wanted to steal the money but she had no other choice. This is all her parents fault, if only they had left her at a friends house then she wouldn't be in this predicament. The lock on the gun clicked out of place as if in slow motion Mary-Kate could hear as the bullet was pulled from the chamber. Closing her eyes she prepared to die. The gun fired but the bullet never hit, she sat there for many minutes until she peaked out the small of her eye. What she saw shocked her. A man cloaked in the night stood before her with his hand held out she took it without hesitation.

"Can you tell me what happened?" He asked his voice gruff. Mary-Kate looked up from her hooded eye lashes and replied.

"It's a long story."

"I've got time." He replied

To be truthful the last six years of her life have been nothing but hatred and regret, she was no longer innocent and pure as she was tainted with blood on her hands. She didn't want to confess her crimes to Batman but right now she knew was the best time as he would probably just beat it out of her later anyways. The Batman was funny like that when he said that he didn't believe in killing villains and yet he beat them nearly to it and then stopped. He was just as much a villain as they all were and yet Gotham called him a hero.

 **A new chapter will be posted on Thursday June 25**


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